I’m not dead yet!

Chime In hasn't had a pulse for a good 6 years, but despite all appearances to the contrary, this blog is not dead yet! A friend recently asked us for travel recommendations for Thailand and it led me down memory lane a little bit...and back to this blog! I discovered a few unfinished drafts and it has inspired me to finish what I started.

Life has changed so much since I last wrote an entry. We have had many more adventures, we now live in the UK...and the biggest adventure of all...we now have 2 kids! 2! No one is more shocked by this development than me, let me tell you, as we weren't planning to have kids at all! But Selvan and Keeran have turned out to be the best things that have ever happened to me. They are now 2 and 4.

We still travel, but the way we travel has changed quite a bit. It also continues to change all the time as the kids get older and their needs and abilities change. When I was on maternity leave with Selvan, we managed to do a lot. We went to Canada, San Francisco, Cape Town, India and Cape Town again, all before his first birthday!

The Boomslang Boardwalk in Kirstenbosch was a huge hit with the kids!

We have made all kinds of newbie mistakes when traveling with kids. So many valuable lessons have been learned and I'm looking forward to writing about them soon. I also plan to go back and fill in information from our RTW world trip. Hard to believe that was 7 years ago now! So please stay tuned!

Beach vs. Boardwalk: Penguin Viewing in Simon's Town

I love penguins. I'm not entirely sure what it is about them that I find so endearing, but I could happily watch them waddle around for hours! I was so excited when I learned that a large colony of African Penguins (formerly named Jackass Penguins) was just 30 minutes from Nicks' house in Cape Town!

But Nick? Well, he just views them as a nuisance. According to him, they are, and I quote, "noisy, smelly and they've taken over the nicest beach in Cape Town!".

View from the boardwalk at Foxy Beach

Unfortunately, for my adorable little friends, this is all true. But depending on when you go and the direction of the wind, you might get lucky on the noise and smell front! And even if you don't...well that's all just part of the experience, eh?

Kirstenbosch Gardens

As an avid hiker and all-around outdoorsy person, I have seen my share of unique flora, fauna and jaw-droppingly beautiful vistas. I've been very lucky in that regard. But all of these amazing outdoors experiences come with a price. And the change was so gradual that I didn't even realize it was happening! You see, I've become a bit of a nature snob :(

If a nature spot is too close to civilization or too manicured, I find myself taking off points in the rating system in my head.

I know that national parks and manicured gardens are two very different types of beauty and that there is room in this world for both. I also know that botanical gardens make rare and exotic plants, that would be very difficult to see in the wild, more accessible. But unless there are young children in tow or health issues at play, I feel like there is no excuse to cheat yourself out of a more "authentic" outdoor experience by going to a garden over a national park.

I am working to conquer such thoughts. But even unrepentant nature snobs will be able to enjoy the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town. Kirstenbosch somehow manages to zig-zag across the line between wild and manicured without going too far one way or the other. In fact, I felt that the gardens were as memorable an experience as hiking Table Mountain itself!

Pincushion Protea, Kirstenbosch Gardens

The Slightly-Less Beaten Path: Cape Town

This holiday season, we decided to spend time with Nick's family in Cape Town, South Africa. Since it had been a few years since his last visit, I wasn't expecting very much to happen on the sight-seeing front. But looking back on our visit, we managed to cram in a lot!

This was my second trip to Cape Town, so we ventured a little further afield and were able to explore some of the lesser-known, but no less beautiful, parts of South Africa. Here are a few things I had never seen or heard of before, but really enjoyed.

Beaches Galore!

Rocky, sandy, warm, cold, with penguins, without penguins...South Africa has a beach to suit every taste!

One of the nicest off-the-tourist-track beaches we went to was in Noordhoek. The crystal clear waters, soft white sand and green, hilly backdrop made it a visual treat. There's even a nifty, 100 year old shipwreck about 2 kms down the beach.

Noordhoek and the remains of the 'Kakapo'

There's just one little catch...Noordhoek is on the Atlantic. So even in the height of summer, the water is ice cold! If all you're looking for is a place to dip your toes on a hot day, this is perfect. But anything more than a toe and you might want to head to Simon's Town or Fish Hoek.